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| 03 |---PUBLISH -->-->> November 1999. By Terri Stone. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Boston. "Taking type in new directions" - The faces behind the faces. The shape of written symbols fascinated people when the first Mesopotamians sharpened twigs and scratched cuneiforms on clay tables. Although 5000 years have passed, we still pay attention to the shapes of characters. In the last few decades they've put on an especially flashy show: Type trends have evolved constantly, taking cues from a staggering array of art forms and styles. The people behind this growth are type designers. The recent proliferation of type designers is well documented, and one article cannot cover all the major players. The people profiled here were chosen for their fresh insights. Some design type exclusively, some also engage in graphic design or fine art. Some even code their own type-design applications. All take type in new directions... Carlos Segura's foundry, [T-26] was a major player in the swirl of experimentation that characterized the earlier part of this decade. In addition to breaking the traditional bounds of letterforms, [T26] produced the first type "movies" ––animations that show letters in motion––and used them promotionnally. And Segura doesn't confine his creativity to type. "It's just one level of artistic expression" he says. "I'm about more than one thing, as most artists are". Segura also founded a graphic design studio, Segura Inc.; a record label, Thickface Records; and as of this September, a new media company that focuses on the web called 37 Signals. "We only want work that will change the future, and we'll focus on new technologies". Segura believes his early environment opened up his creative mind. "I came from Cuba, which was a "civil war" situation. You grow up aware of your surrondings out of a drive to survive. Then we moved to Miami, which at the time was a racially divided city, and that caused us to always look over our shoulders. That makes me bring everything to the forefront". I'ts no surprise tghen that Segura's latest type inspirations resemble found art. One face, caled "Tools", comprises unmodified scans of actual tools. Another typeface sprang from a trip to Brazil, were he became intrigued by amateur signage. "We're trying to create type based on grassroots creations--things that come from the general public". Although those projects have a found-art sensibility, Segura describes the general trend of today's type design as "more classical, but with a modern edge. Type and graphic design are experiencing a sigh--almost a sigh of relief. After the extreme levels of experimentation in the late 80's and early 90's, we're saying 'let's relax'. "In the early
90's, type took the spotlight, you'd look at a piece and noticed what
font it used. Now you're looking at what it says"...
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